Mommy's Big Birthday

Warning! This is a kid-free blog post. What?! I know. Imagine... :)

I had a big birthday recently.  A friend flew in on a big 'ole airplane. Friends drove across the miles and donned sparkly fun.  It was a night where I felt very blessed and very celebrated. And very, very full. (The food was dynamite).

Some of my gals....

Our lovely outdoor table...

Laughter and more laughter....

And how bout that? Grandma and Grandpa were able to be here, too. Super duper special.

And none of it would've mattered without the hubs. Who makes every day brighter. But especially this one.

Psalm 139:16 "...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

862. the perfect cake from the right person on the right day
863. the help of my parents
864. words i'll never forget
865. feeling blessed, cherished and known

Fat and Happy (or Joyful)

The weather has been warmer lately and (shhh! don't tell anyone!) there's been some ice cream in our lives. Now that I've admitted that, I'll tell you that the kids eat ice cream almost every night. That's right. Almost every single night. Yes...it's sugar. But it's also a weight gainer for them and we are all about that. After eating our veggies, of course.

Fordy prefers chocolate.

Abby is after her Papa's (and my) heart...and loves vanilla. Pure and unadulterated. Amen.

And while she's never seen Flashdance, there were hints of that around this house (hairbands as ankle bracelets) and Rapunzel hair, of course.

There was even a date night recently with free babysitting. Yes. Free babysitting. We were so excited. We thought we'd share it with Van Gogh's self portrait on loan down the street.

Today Abby and I decided that yes, we would see who could memorize a bible verse first (always fun to make it a game, right?). Usually she rolls her eyes at these things but she was game today and so, "Rejoice always and pray without ceasing..." was our verse. I think it'll last all week  -- with me constantly remembering that it doesn't matter much if we know it, if we don't apply it. So, this week, we choose to rejoice. Even if toes are stubbed. Even when tears fall. Even when we are less than thrilled with little brother. Yes, even then.

I'll let you know how it goes. But I can guess that it's gonna be a good week... because we'll be choosing joy.

857. memorizing together
858. extra carrot cake
859. showing a profit in my little biz
860. inspiring music
861. the stereo in the kitchen (aka rocking with the dishes)

The Sweet Boy

Sweet Fordy. He's talking up a storm lately. And throwing fits. And arching his back in protest. And saying "noooooo!" often. As well as "o-kaaaay!" He's a wonderful mix of all-boy, climbing and pouncing and going non-stop and a super snuggler. Looking back, I realize at this age that Abby started freaking out about things too. Whew.

On Tuesdays, we go to the child hour at the "big" library. I did this with Abby when she was 2 and she sat next to me the entire time, clapping, interacting, singing, watching as the book was read. Ford hardly sits still, running to the front, running behind the forbidden curtain, giggling at the book the teacher is holding with his face 2 inches from the book. He is becoming.... a constant motion-filled being.

And I'm finally realizing.... I need to spend some time teaching him to sit still.  It's against every fiber in his little being.

Here is the one day that sis got to come along when she wasn't in school and they ended library time by dancing at the front.

And a few times recently, I've actually found him happily playing by himself... that was a glorious moment. I could hear him... "vroom! vroom!" playing with his cars.




And let's be honest, it always pays to be prepared. Even in 75 degree weather.

But especially when you're heading to the slide...going down backwards.

After which you most definitely need a snack. Preferably in the top of the play structure. (I'll do anything to mix it up in order to get them to eat more).

Have I mentioned how much I love this kiss-giving boy?

852. photos from years before
853. seeing another be pampered
854. deep, sound sleep without a wake up
855. abby's shoe collection
856. a love of socks

Blog Shame

Oh, people. I have blog shame. I big, healthy serving of it.

I do hereby swear to update the aforementioned blog more often. Like, more than once a month. Sheesh! What am I doing? Constant laundry?

So, please know.... more is coming soon.  For now, please know that Easter was glorious. Glorious indeed. Especially because I got to spend some good, sunny time with these two hooligans :

848. a resort-like grandma and pop pop house
849. working out the bed situation
850. the cousins loving each other
851. feeling spoiled

Tangled 24/7

Abby has finally watched Tangled. And she's finally almost unafraid of the whole thing. She sings the main song all day long and ties this scarf to her hair ....

At this point, we're all used to stepping over it, around it and on it. It's absolutely disgusting. Even after I wash it. Yet another thing to try and keep clean.

And yet, it makes her imagination run wild. Inside, outside, ever where.

Even on the swings...

And in case you get any crazy (wonderful) ideas that bunny has left the picture, don't be fooled. She's saving that for her fourth birthday when bunny will be relegated to bed.

And Fordy.... always likes to get his hands dirty. Especially in the bubble bucket at the farmers market.

844. imagination
845. constant singing
846. an opportunity to deal with demanding
847. an opportunity to deal with complaining

Cycle Flying

I really wish I played with my kids more. You know? I'm always cleaning this or picking up that or getting ready for this or that.... and sometimes I need to just sit down and find out how Tinkerbell is doing. Because Abby knows and would be happy to tell me.

In an almost four year old update, our girl can now really, really ride a tricycle.

She can fly....

And this guy loves to chase her...

840. our little girl accomplishing big girl things
841. knowing our mailman, Lee, and having Ford scream his name
842. the juicer
843. catching up on Downton Abbey

"Balentines Day"

Good thing our Valentines prep started a full week early this year. Abby was very busy shoving things into bags for her friends at school while I tied on the ribbon. This getting older thing comes in really handy when these tasks need to get done!

A few days later, she fell asleep before dinner... and what I've been calling the plague hit our house. For a solid week, someone in our home was in bed. The kids bounced back fairly fast with mild fevers and such but Grant and I both were in bed for over 2 days. Each. It was rough. I'm so very happy and so thankful to be healthy again.

The kids did a lot of this while we were sick.... more and more and more shows to watch. I think even they got sick of TV.

They even snacked all together without fussing.... miraculous!

And a few days later, they were happily splashing about in the pool. Ah, winter in Pasadena. Watching me blow that thing up with a raging sinus infection was another sight to behold.

By the time February 14th arrived, our newly-healthy girl got a sweet friend to bring to school for "balentines" day...Snow White!

Preschool hats and heart-shaped suckers. That's all they need for the dimples to show up...

And although the parents were still sick, the kids were sucking down Swedish Fish faster that I could say, "eat your vegetables!"  We tried to instill the idea that Valentines Day is a great day to show God's love to others. But let's be honest -- they were all about the candy.

Thank the Lord the candy stash is almost gone. Almost.

836. feeling well enough to get out of bed
837. Grant being able to take over, and do it so well
838. not having been that sick in 8 years
839. Abby getting dressed without tears